Tuesday, March 22, 2011

March 23, 2011

"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."   Psalm51:1-10

How many times can I disappoint God by my sins, especially the besetting sins or those who just keep commiting the same sin over and over? Will there be point and time when God will say, "That's it! You're done! No more mercy or grace for you!"?

Face it, with every other relationship there is a point where one more disappointment is the deal-breaker and that person will bail out on you. They either end the relationship or withdraw emotionally from you. That hurts so much that it can cause you to be guarded and cautious in all relationships. The fear of losing a relationship and being rejected should we disappoint them one more time can be almost paralyzing. It can put tremendous pressure on all of your relationships and create insecurity.

Perhaps David feared he had disappointed God so much that there would be no redemption for him. He obviously was plagued by guilt and remorse. In out to God, David asks for 3 things to happen?


Transgressions blotted out – "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions." THIS IS THE ACT ITSELF – “Please Lord, forget I ever did what I did, blot it out so it can never be seen again!”

Iniquity washed – "Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place."  THIS IS THE GUILT IT BRINGS – Guilt is the leftover stuff, the anger we have at our self, what we cannot forgive about what we did, the punishment that I am putting on myself, I cannot forgive me.

Sin cleansed – "Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." THE ONE WHO DID IT – The stuff in me that causes me to do these things, I want this cleansed, I don’t want to be that person.

David sinned terribly and disappointed His God and himself. This prayer of three-fold contrition restored him to fellowship with God and helped him work through his guilt and disappointment with himself.

If you fear you have disappointed God and wonder if you can be forgiven and restored, read Psalm 51 several times humbly and prayerfully. Then pray that Psalm sincerely to God. See if God's grace will meet you as it did King David.



March 22, 2011

"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge." Psalm 51:4

If you asked one hundred Christians to name the greatest King of Israel, all one hundred would probably answer King David. They would be right.

God chose Him when he was still a child in the home of his father, Jesse. He was from the same lineage that would later produce Jesus. David's zeal for God and for God's people and His nation was unmatched by any other king. That zeal inspired great courage and that courage made him a giant-killer. His character caused him to honor King Saul at the very time that Saul was seeking to destroy him. His charismatic leadership drew mighty men to follow him and to become giant-killers themselves.

David was known as a mighty warrior. He was hailed as a conqueror. Millions have been blessed and inspired by his poetry celebrated in the Psalms. Few men have demonstrated such passion for worshipping God. God's people enjoyed peace and His nation prospered under King David's leadership. He was honored by God's reference to him as possessing a heart like His own!

Few kings of any era or any nation has been more honored or revered than King David. And few, if any, have disappointed God more than David disappointed God.

I doubt if anyone ever wants to disappoint God. Least of all, David. And yet, this godly man committed adultery and then had a loyal man killed to cover up his transgression. He suffered significant sorrows as a consequence of these sins.

The fear of disapponting God is real. David is an example why.

Perhaps you have disappointed God. You understand the deep sense of grief that he experienced and you struggle under the resulting consequences from your sin. While your heart longs for God you are afraid you would disappoint Him again if you try to follow Him again. What do you do?

I suggest you do like David, cry out to Him in repentence. Confess your sin and turn from it. Seek His forgiveness and then chase God harder than you ever have before!

King David did. And he never disappointed God again. History remembers him for his greatness not his great failure. So did God.